my family is planning to visit walt disney world in december 2008. will the weather be warm enough to wear shorts?. will it be warm enough to go to the water parks?”

For the month of December, the average high at WDW is 73 and the average low is 51. However, that's just the average, what really happens in any given year could be widely different from this. I have been to WDW in December and had it be so cold we needed to buy extra sweatshirts and gloves for the kids. I have also been there in December when temperatures were in the mid-80s and I was sweating wearing long pants.

As you can see, this can make for a bit of challenge with packing. Make sure you check a website like weather.com a few days before your trip to see what you will likely encounter during your vacation. But in general, when going to WDW in the winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) I usually plan to mostly wear ankle-length or capri-style pants. I also pack a pair or two of shorts and a pair of jeans, in case there are temperature extremes in either direction. On top, I plan to wear lots of layers. In the morning, I'll start out with a short-sleeve T, under a long-sleeve T, under a fleece or sweater. As the day warms up, just peel off the layers.

As for the water parks, there have been plenty of winter trips to WDW where we've had a great time at the water parks and others where it's been so chilly I didn't even venture into the resort pool. When mapping out our days, we usually make a plan for each day that says something like "Animal Kingdom OR Typhoon Lagoon day" or "Magic Kingdom OR Blizzard Beach day." We will make dining reservations as if we're going to the theme park, but if the weather is hot enough for the water park, we'll just cancel our table service meals at the theme park and eat counter service food at the water park.

Meet the Panelist: Erin, New York

I have three teenage daughters. We're DVC members obsessed with Disney travel. We've been to Walt Disney World countless times and have visited Disneyland & Disneyland Paris. We've taken several Adventures by Disney and Disney Cruise trips.Learn More About Erin

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